


all we're looking for

by soetry



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Inspired by La La Land (2016), Love at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute, Strangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26683612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soetry/pseuds/soetry
Summary: “I'm Charles,” he said, hands clasped tightly together, and it came out like,yes.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	all we're looking for

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a tiny little meet-cute fic, inspired by la la land's [city of stars](https://youtu.be/GTWqwSNQCcg). i recommend listening to it to gauge the mood of this fic <3

"Hi."  
  
Charles looked up.   
  
"Hello," he said, slowly and cluelessly, to the man in front of him.  
  
"I saw you from over there," the man said, pointing at the corner of the diner. "And I was wondering if you would — Would you like to spend the night together?"  
  
Charles blinked, shifting in his chair. "What — Spend the night together?"  
  
There was a charming pink dust across the top of the man's cheeks, and Charles's heart sped up. "Not like — I meant that we could maybe catch a film. And then we could people watch at the train station. And then we could go to Cliff's Edge. If you — If you would want that."  
  
Charles looked back down at the script spread in front of him. His one highlighted, terribly corny line stood out to him.

  
MAN #3  
I'm not going anywhere until I get what I came here for —

  
Charles looked back up.  
  
“I'm Charles,” he said, hands clasped tightly together, and it came out like, _yes_.  
  
His eyes kept dodging away from the man's face. When he finally gathered the courage to look at him, his chest seized. The man was smiling, a wide, sharkish thing with too many teeth and not enough lip, and the skin was wrinkled at its edges, and his eyes were so bright that they were like supernovas, these enormous exploding stars, and Charles wanted to know —  
  
“Erik,” the man breathed out. “I'm Erik.” Then he hurriedly swiped away his smile, like it wasn't meant to be shown. Charles's chest twinged before it was soothed down.  
  
Charles, still dazed, laughed lightly. “Erik. Hi.”  
  
“Hello, Charles,” Erik said softly, and Charles looked away from the warm look to start piling his stuff together and shoving it all into his bag. As his hand moved abruptly to the side, he hit his empty mug and it was falling to the ground before a large hand snatched it from the air.  
  
Charles's eyes were caught in Erik's. The other man smiled, again, this time with no teeth but dripping of charisma.  
  
Charles robotically put a bill under the mug, still staring at Erik. He slowly stood, and Erik hurriedly took a step back, a movement that startled Charles so much that he stumbled, and then—  
  
Erik's arms wrapped easily around his waist, and Charles's own hands gripped Erik's sturdy shoulders. A woodsy and metallic scent hit Charles's nose, and Erik's presence was— intoxicating. Addicting. Familiar in the sense that Charles felt like he had known Erik for much longer than what reality distantly insisted. Almost like Erik was that blank space next to his own name; like Erik's tall, lean frame was what could fit perfectly alongside Charles's own; like Erik held the answer of warmth for the eternally cold space in his bed.  
  
Like Erik was what filled Charles's restless nights. Like Erik was his dreams come true.  
  
His head felt entirely too dizzy when Charles was finally able to look up. Wide, clear blue eyes were staring into his own.  
  
“I'm sorry,” Charles whispered.  
  
Erik didn't completely disentangle their bodies, but he did put distance in between them. His arms were still at Charles's side; he was still close. “It's fine.”  
  
Charles tightened his hold on his bag, proffered Erik a small smile, and then said, “Would you like to lead the way?”  
  
Erik nodded quickly. He started walking to the door, sending furtive glances back at Charles.  
  
Exiting the diner enveloped them into the quiet streets of the outer city. Erik scuffed his foot to the sidewalk. Charles laughed at the thought that came to mind.  
  
Erik looked up, eyes shimmering but his lips twisted in a curious frown. “What is it?”  
  
Charles gave an easy shrug, grinning. “I was just wondering if you were planning to mug or kidnap me. I know nothing about you.”

“My last name is Lehnsherr,” said Erik instantly. “I'm twenty-three, I'm a musician at the Hellfire Club, and I'm six feet tall.”

Charles blinked. “Did you just give me your description so that I could report you for a mugging?”

Erik — _Lehnsherr, Erik Lehnsherr, Erik Lehnsherr, Erik Lehnsherr_ — smiled, a secretive one. “Who knows how the night will end?”

Charles laughed again — he couldn't seem to stop laughing tonight, for the first time in what felt like years. “Okay, then. Xavier, twenty-one, struggling actor and barista, and I'm five feet and seven inches.” He paused. “But, of course, it's possible that you already knew all of that.”  
  
Erik's cheeks went beet red. “I realize my approach wasn't exactly— conventional, but I couldn't...”  
  
Charles tilted his head as the other man trailed off. Erik gave a frustrated smile and made a choppy head movement to indicate following him, and Charles did so curiously.  
  
“Are we going to Cliff's Edge?” he asked softly. “I thought that was at the end of the agenda.”  
  
Erik gave a quiet huff at that. “I really made that up on the go. Cliff's Edge was the endgame.”  
  
It only took five more minutes before they reached the point in the city that displayed the shining lights, streets, buildings, people, culture below it. Charles quickened his pace to get to the very edge, and Erik made an aborted noise before following him.  
  
Charles laughed. Erik looked positively ruffled. “Who's the tour guide here?” he grumbled, his lips twitching.  
  
“Oh, apologies, but this place is just...” Charles beamed down at the city. “Beautiful.”  
  
It was quiet for a moment before Erik gently nudged his arm. Charles gazed over at him. He looked charmingly nervous.  
  
“I didn't come for _that_ view, really,” he murmured. Charles arched an eyebrow. Erik gave a quiet grin back. “Look up.”  
  
Charles looked up, and his eyes adjusted from the dazzling lights of the city to the new view. Thousands of twinkling stars, shining in a city of their own, telling stories and whispering promises of acceptance and loyalty and a crazy feeling that made Charles's stomach flip.  
  
“It's gorgeous,” Charles said, his throat raw.  
  
“It's so often ignored for the city lights,” murmured Erik, “I think it's a crime.”  
  
“And,” Charles cleared his throat, still gazing up, “why did you bring _me_ here?”  
  
Silence. Charles looked back to Erik, who was looking at him, eyes unreadable but so expressive.  
  
Finally, he said, tone low, “I saw your eyes, and they reminded me of — of the stars. And I saw a whole universe, galaxies, and— _God_ , Charles, I have no idea what I'm doing here. I'm not someone who does anything like this ever. I walk the same amount of steps every single day, but today, I saw you, and I didn't care, I knew that I had to walk to you, whether it took one hundred or one thousand more steps.” Erik's eyes were trained to the ground. “And I just— I wanted that feeling to stay.”  
  
Charles was speechless. Erik seemed to be regretting what he said at every passing, silent moment, but Charles was speechless and he desperately wanted to tell Erik that he should have no regrets, Charles felt the same and _more_ , but he couldn't.  
  
Panicked, he choked out the first thing that came to mind: “And here I thought these stars were shining just for me.”  
  
Erik looked back up.  
  
And though Charles still was unsure whether Erik truly felt the same way as he already, overwhelmingly did, he stared at the same blinding smile that he originally received and found that he couldn't even begin to care.  
  
Nothing had ever shined so brightly.

**Author's Note:**

> having erik be the one who approached charles was interesting to write since he's so . magneto-ish, but i hope you liked this!


End file.
